Monthly Archives: June 2009

Running: Men’s Health All Terrain Run

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
2

I ran two trail runs in the past two weeks. The first one was The All Terra King Of the Mountain Trail Run and the second was the Men’s Health All Terrain run in Sta. Elena, Laguna. Having ran two similar runs in such a short period of time, I couldn’t help but compare the two.

I experienced major uphills and climbs in my first trial run. It felt great. It was an amazing experience running atop mountains. There was this feeling of fear of getting lost in the trail.  Having seen the TNF100 videos showing at ROX, I couldn’t help but expect the same for my trail runs. The All Terra KOM certainly didn’t disappoint. I could say with utmost confidence the 10 kilometers I ran there was one of the worst but one of the best I’ve ran. It was hard, but it was never boring.

A week after the All Terra KOM, the Men’s Health All Terrain Run came. I signed up for the 15k because I was crazy. I was barely able to finish the last 10k trail run under 1 hr 30 minutes and a week after; I’m back on the trails running 15 kilometers.

That, my friends, is what you call crazy.

The race was ok for me but the course was a big let down. If Yokozuna came out of retirement and was smacked down by the Rock, the course last Sunday would be a bigger let down than the Rock’s smack down on the big Sumo Wrestler. I had my mindset on running up mountains again. I had my mindset running down steep down hills. I had my mindset on getting that euphoric feeling of getting lost in nature. I was looking for that thrill that I experienced the week before coming into Men’s Health run.

The race was well organized but the course was a big disappointment.

Imagine this.

You’re driving your big SUV on a long stretch of road. To the left and right of you are grasslands; grass that go as high as your big SUV. Then all of a sudden, you see a deer crossing. You right serve into the grass lands. You plow down and eat up the grass like you’re a big lawn mower. You keep on zig zagging in the grassland until you get back into that long stretch of road. You finally get back on the road but now a cow suddenly crosses your way. You swerve left and then you plow down some more grass and eat them up. Repeat that a few more times and the result of the plowed down grasslands is the “All New Never Before Stepped On Trail Course” of the Men’s Health All Terrain Race.

It’s amazing.

Running: Cleaning Mud Stained Shoes

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
5

Ran the Men’s Health Trail run last Sunday. It was ok but I’ll talk about it in another post.

I got to use my trail shoes for a second time on the trail run. The first was here. On both occasions my shoes ended up so dirty that a seasoned shoe cleaner wouldn’t dare touch them. Here’s how I cleaned my shoes in under 5 minutes.

All dirty My trail shoes all too dirty.

All dirty Look at all that dirt.

The usual way of cleaning shoes is with water, brush and a little soap. I do it in a very unconventional way. Unconventional, but fast!

The legendary shoe cleaner The Legendary shoe cleaner. That my friends is a pressure washer. We use it at our house to clean dog cages. A mixture of water and lysol will do great for cleaning and disinfecting my shoes!

Blasting! Blasting it up. Make sure you don’t hit yourself. It stings!

Blast them up with a high pressure hose This is definitely more worthwhile that just using a brush and soap.

Don’t for get to wash up the shoes with soap after. Also, don’t forget to take out the insoles!

All Clean All cleaned up.

Never let them dry out under the sun!

Running: Some Firsts…

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
6

I ran a lot last weekend.

I ran 10 kilometers Up and Down a mountain. It was a Trail run arranged by All Terra. It was fun. It was a great break from all the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle.

The trail run was a blast. It started off pretty hard with runners going up a very steep road. I could swear that it was more than a kilometer of an incline of probably 45 degrees. I panted like a pug after that stretch of road. I was desperately yearning for the incline and the road to end and the mud and forest to begin. It was probably one of the worst 10 minutes of my life. Going up that steep road burned me out.

I ran up mountains last weekend. I lost my lungs in the process. The hills of San Mateo Rizal was not a walk in the park. It was hard and exhausting. It was pure evil. If I could name the hills, I would have named them the Camelcase mountains. Up AnD DowN aND uP and dOwN I went on those hills. It was hard but I had fun. It was a good 10 kilometer run, jog, walk, but mostly walks up and down mountains. I ran and I finished in 80 minutes. Not lightning speed but I was happy with it being my first trail run.

I ran a 5k fun run with Tricia last Sunday too. We ran the PTAA fun run. Too bad we weren’t able to wear our LiveStrong bands to the event. Even though It was a shorter distance, I somehow felt that I had a harder time running the distance. Forcing myself to pace with Tricia was immensely difficult but it was worth it. She was able to finish 5k and I was able to run at a good easy 70-80% heart rate. I didn’t want to leave her alone being that it was her first fun run.

Last weekend was a fruitful one. Hope next weekend will be an even better one. Wish me luck on the 15k Men’s Health Trail run!